I might add the Stockton Deep Water Channel is only 600 feet wide at that location and not a place to sail, albeit I have traveled there to go to Lost Isle when the channel was clear and there were NO freighters.
What was he thinking?
- Thread starter dlochner
- Start date
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 21,406
Thanks for the update Dave... But I have to say I found the uniform ad on the Coast Guard News site a bit out of character....
Well, the ads are based on your browsing history.Thanks for the update Dave... But I have to say I found the uniform ad on the Coast Guard News site a bit out of character....
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Yep, I sailed out of Bethel Island for 12 years. Being in that channel and seeing one of those ships coming is scary. From the cockpit of a sail boat it looks like the City of Stockton is coming toward you. My sense of self preservation would kick in strongly.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 21,406
I’m with Jon on the quality (or shortcomings) of the reporting. It looks like they’re taking this opportunity for a PSA about COLREGS and a little short on the details of this actual incident. If the ship’s captain asserted “they were in our blind spot” it seems like that would be a liability against them for failure to keep a proper lookout. This incident likely had little to do with any “blind spot” and more to do with erratic or oblivious actions of the sailboat. But rather than details on the root causes of that lapse we get a PSA to stay out of the way of BST’s.
Another article on the topic from the USCG Auxillary, published in Waterway Guide.
Hmmm. Having been ship’s navigator on a nuc carrier I am very familiar with the blind zone or as we called it, the shadow zone. I also know that reg as RAM, or restricted in ability to maneuver. Sometimes slowing is not an option as the Big Steel Thing can lose steerageway under a certain speed. On our carrier it was 5 kts ( and we have 4 screws, 2 rudders and 300,000 ship). The Stockton vessel was I’m sure single screw single rudder and significantly less SHP per ton than us so therefore much less maneuverable. Lacking cross currents or cross wind slowing was maybe not an immediate critical factor but it certainly could have been given the narrow navigable channel. Even with a proper lookout and with lookouts at the bow, what we called the eyes of the ship, supplying accurate and timely reports maneuvering options can be quite limited. Just prior to docking once at the San Diego pier a wind surfer crossed our bow and disappeared into the shadow zone. With a pretty good wind on the starboard beam there wasn’t much we could do as we were already at 5 kts and bare steerageway. The captain and I looked at each other and just shrugged our shoulders. We asked the bow lookouts ( standard for departing and entering port and reduced visibility) to keep us informed as to the wind surfers progress. Fortunately for him we did not block his wind and he popped out safely on our stbd side.Just saw this. A sailboat sailed across the bow of a freighter in a narrow channel. CG caught up to him and fined him.
Sailboat Operator Cited for 'Rule 9' Violation After Crossing in Front of Tanker Near Stockton
The operator of a recreational sailboat has been cited for violating navigation rules after his sailboat crossed in front of tanker in a narrow channel near Stockton, California last month....gcaptain.com
I think Jon and JS have it. The CG response is odd, to say the least. They were there and witnessed an event they deemed reckless. And took the moment to make an example.
By the looks of the photo, by the time it was taken, the danger was past, if it had ever been there.
Besides blowing a horn to alert the other vessel, I can't imagine there would be any action a 550' vessel can initiate that would save a 25' sailboat that was really in danger of collision. I imagine there would be no discernable change in the ship's speed or course in the time this incident took to occur.
I would guess the sailboat skipper didn't see things the way the CG or the ship's captain saw it. He probably had a good hundred plus feet of leeway, enough for him, uncomfortable for sailors like me. I see no reason to get that close, but it doesn't look like he was ever in danger of collision.
-Will (Dragonfly)
By the looks of the photo, by the time it was taken, the danger was past, if it had ever been there.
Besides blowing a horn to alert the other vessel, I can't imagine there would be any action a 550' vessel can initiate that would save a 25' sailboat that was really in danger of collision. I imagine there would be no discernable change in the ship's speed or course in the time this incident took to occur.
I would guess the sailboat skipper didn't see things the way the CG or the ship's captain saw it. He probably had a good hundred plus feet of leeway, enough for him, uncomfortable for sailors like me. I see no reason to get that close, but it doesn't look like he was ever in danger of collision.
-Will (Dragonfly)
I can,t debate the fine points of the rules but this clown should get the book thrown at him. Where I sail you have to be aware of large ships from all directions. I pay a lot of attention to my AIS on my way to the bay. I see a lot of boats play chicken with these big ships and I can't believe how close they get. Very stupid.